The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 28, 1898, Page 1

The - VOLUME LXXXYV, 0. 28. AN FRANCISCO, PRICE FIVE CENT WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28 FINGER OF SUSPICION IS POINTED AT CLARA ARBOGAST Defenders of Mrs. Botkin Intimate That Another Woman Wrote the Note in the Box of Poisoned Sweets. Both the Prosecution and the Defense Score a Point in the Closing Skirmish of the Celebrated Trial for Murde Commence To-Day RS. CORDELIA BOTKIN, on trial for her life, charged with ning of Dover, Delaware, know her fate on Friday. At carefully the evidence that has | been presented both for and against her during the past two weeks, and will decide whether she shall step | forth shortly a free woman or els: mount those thirteen dreadful steps at San ‘Quentin leading to the gallows tree. upon which hanging ove murdering Mrs. Deane. is the same in each c ever t The evidence and if she is se | roor: the murder of Mre. John P. Dun- | on the jurymen and gazed .steadil hould | them for some time. that time twelve men will welgh | gisters for comfor e | Until the following morning. | General White will make the opening | argument | morn If she be acquitted of the charge | noon by George Knight of counsel for she is on trial she still has | Mrs. Botkin, while he in turn will be her head the charge of | followed by his associate, Frank Mc- | | mer will then close for the oas 5 | that will remain then will ought to trial a conviction 18| oot il Cook’s charge to the jury strain. Soon after entering the court- in the morning she bent her She seemed to draw no relief from the stolid expres- sion on their faces and turned to her will, it is expected, consume the greater portion of to-day and' to-morrow. If so it is thou Judge Cook will not charge the ju Attorne: The argumen for the prosecution this . He will be followed this after- Gowan, to-morrow morningf Mr. Hos- ate and all be Judgze when not expected in the second, as no mo- | Mre Botkin's fate will be in its hands. tive can be advanced. | The last witnesses testified vesterday | and each side gained something there-| by. Through an inadvertence Attor! Knight drew from one of the witnes for the pros: evidence that the public prosecutor had | overlooked. She was called to weaken | the testimony of Dr. Terrill to the effect that he had attended Mrs. Botkin on | Sunday afternoon, July 3l The doc- tor could not find his way to his pa- tient’s room, and while searching for a gervant to show him the way he en- tered the dining-room and knocked at the kitchen door and was answered by Miss Smith. e rememb ed the medico’s visit and then fix the day by a series of deductions that would do credit Sherlock Holmes or any ot Hawkshaw It was not Sunday, cause, first, she was in charge of the in all the time of her ser- vice thi on a Sunda ng her busy preparing the spec dinner alw .rved on that day, and, secondly, she making vegetable soup. This fixed the date absolutely for her, she as to | modern | be- | | duty never devolved upon her | day never made vegetable soup on Sunday. | this same deep reasoning Botkin was ill—she had prepared a trayful of food, which the waiter had taken to Mrs. Botkin. This was the testimony the prosecution rished to bring out, as it cast a doubt upon Dr. Terrill’s testimony as to a visit to which he did not attach suffi- cient importance to enter in his books. Mr. Knight had hardly commenced upon the witness before he unwittingly | brought qut an answer he neither ex- pected nor desired. 'he witness had stated that Mrs. Botkin was ill on Monday and the at-! torney apparently thought she would | say the accused woman was ill and in} bed on Sunday also. horror the | witness replied: *N¢ as out of | the house on Sundz T saw her come | in late in the afternoon and speak to| Mrs. Price, the landlady, in the hall-| I stood just behind Mrs. Price.” | This corroborates Mrs. Price, who tes-, tified early in the proceedings that Mrs. | Rotkin came in with packages late, on | the afternoon that Sylvia Heney says | a woman, whom she believes to be the | prisoner, bought a box of candy from | hér. The prosecution beamed when this important bit of testimony that it had | overlooked was brought out by !ho: r side. m;lit;s. Clara Arbogast, tall, blonde nml‘} willowy, was produced unexpectedly by the prosecution to the palpable surprise of Mrs. Botkin and her legal advise According to the testimony adduced during the trial Mrs. Arbogast, W ho is gaid to be a grandmother, but does not look % the woman who stands be- tween Botkin and her portly spouse, Welcome Botkin. She has en- deavored- to avoid being a witness and it /s only at the eleventh hour that she : located by the prosecution. | Prommpted by Mrs. Botkin, Knight was probing deeply into the relations exist- ing between the woman and Mr. Botkin, but finally desisted before drawing from 3 ameful confession she might have been in a position to make. The only point scored by the defense during the morning session, which was marked by the acrimonious debate of counsel, was in regard to the carrying of mail between Eureka and this city. One of the anonymous letters was post- marked in this city June 18 of the pres- ent year. Mrs. Botkin was in Eureka all_through that month. The prosecu- tion claimed that the letter was writ- ten in.Eureka on the 17th, which is the date it bears. It was then dropped into. the mail hag, according. to the prosecution, ana brought to this city as is the custom, without being marked in any manner. The steamer Farallon arrived here on the day in question at 4:10 a. m. The purser afirms that it the rule to de- posit all letters, of which the men in his position are custodians, in the Post- office foot of Market street within ohe hour-after arrival. The anonymous let- ter bears the imprint of the canceling stamp with the hour 1:30 p. m. In ad- dition to this\discrepancy Mrs. Botkin's cister affirms that the accused woman did not leavé the house on the day which.the letter must have been mailed in order to come by the Farallon. Mrs. Botkin was not happy yesterdav. All day long she fidgeted about in her It was by chair as though under unusual nervovs | mous letters and oth THE PROCEEDINGS. Mrs. Grace Harris, the woman who sold Botkin two handkerchiefs at the =Argument Will -ution an important bit of [ City of Paris, and who has been Mr. |regularly to visit her, she said it was not. writing in evidence, and firmly denfed | ever having written any of them. When she was turned over to Mr. Knight for cross-examination he had her write, “With love to yourself and baby— Mrs: ‘C.” This, with some receipts, was fterward turned over to the jury for in- | :ction. To Mr. Knight s id that all she knew of the case was what she had read in the papers. She knew Mr. Botkin; was well acquainted with him for a period extending over the past two vears. She knew he was married, as he had told her sp, and she had also iearned it from his son Beverly. They had dis- ed the matter at the Grand Central Stockton. She kept the Balboa lodging-house in this city for a year and a half. She was asked if it was Mr. Botkin's | tom to come from Stockton every Fri- / night to stay until the following Mon- day, but denied that that had been his | cusfom. She did not know why he did not g0 where his wife was rooming. HIs visits | were invariably on business, and he did not stay long. They corresponded, and she was asked by Mr. Knight if their friendship was Plutonic or Platonic.. To this she said they were only letters of friendship, not love letters. Asked if it was not a fact that he came | | Knight's pet aversion during the trial, was the first witness of the day. was recalled at the instance of one of the jurors, who wanted to thoroughly unde: stand the system of sales checks in opera- tion when the sale was made to a woman resembling Mrs. Botkin and who .gave the address corner of Hyde and California streets, the location of the Hotel Victoria. The witness seemed very much at her ease this time, and told in detall the tags she made out for Mrs. Botkin. The wit- ness could not explain why the record of the sale has entirely disappeared. Ap- parently much weight attaches to her testimony, as Judge, jury and counsel all ‘hand at questioning her. Practi- s secured from the the stand. She was followed by Mrs. Clara Arbo- gast, who made her first appearance on the stand, although her name has been bandied about by the attorneys and wit- nasses that have preceded her. Mrs. Ar- bogast said she did not know Mrs. Botkin, Nejther did she know Dunning. She had never heard that there was such a petson As Mrs, Dunning until she read of the Aycumstances attending her death. She testified that she had never asked Mr. Botkin to get a divorce nor had she hinted at such a thing. The witness was r exemplars of hand- nded all the anony- She | has becn staying at Mt. Diablo. She said She sold the hotel some time since and she had never discussed Mr. Botkin's family affairs with him. She lived for six g months at the Grand Central, at which hotel Iives the portly Mr. Botkin and his son Beverly. After answering in the af- firmative that she had seen Mr. Botkin since the arrest of his wife and that she knew Mrs. Seeley quite well, she was re- leased from the stand. Dr. Terrill was recalled. He was asked if he experienced any difficulty in finding Mrs. Botkin the day he was summoned by telephone to attend her. He said he spent some flve minutes ringing the office bell without getting any response. A woman passed and said he would find the ser- vants in the dining room, He was not sure whether he asked for Mrs. Botkin by name or by the number of her room. At the time he was not sure whether he had been summoned by Mrs. Botkin to attend her or some friend in the house. He was asked If he did not say to the officer who served the subpena on him that he could not remember the time of his visit to her and also that he had made no entry in his book because the woman did not seem very ill and he did not expect to be able to collect his fee.. To all this he pleaded forgetfulness. Miss Maggie Smith, cook at the Victo- ria, was the next witness for the prosecu- tion, Mr. Hosmer drew from her some facts he desired and then turned her over to Mr. Knight for cross-examination. Be- fore he released her he inadvertently drew | Sunday. | Farallon, was the next witness. | said to have been mailed to Dover, Dela- from her the startling testimony that she was with Mrs. Price, the landlady of the hotel, that fateful Sunday afternoon when she says she saw Mrs. Botkin come in with packages. Mr. Knight released the witness as quickly and as gracefully as he could after bringing out this testimony supporting what Mrs. Price had previous- ly_testified to. Upon her direct examination by Mr. Hosmer, Miss Smith said that Dr. Terrill knocked at the door of the kitchen where she was working and introduced himself. Knight objected to-the doctor being called into the court room for the purpose of being identified, but objection was overruled. The witness identified Dr. Ter- rill. He asked if a lady in the house was , and she told him that Mrs. Botkln was. She had not seen her, but under orders | had prepared some delicacies for her. She said positively it was not Sunday, as the medico testified to. She knew this because she was in charge of the house at the time | and she was never left alone on Sunday, as that was her busy day. Again, she was engaged at the time making vegetable soup and they never have vegetable soup on Sundays. Mr. Knight asked her how she knew Mrs. Botkin was ill. She said because she had prepared food for her. Mr Knight thought this was a good lead and asked if Mrs. Botkin was in bed Sunday. To his surprise and chagrin the witness an- swered in a very positive manner that Mrs. Botkin was out of the house on She stood just behind Mrs. Price in the hallway when Mrs. Botkin came in with some packages. The wi ness was positive that the doctor did not call on. Sunday. With this she was re- leased. Chief Lees and Hosmer fairly beamed across at Knight as the witness left the stand as her testimony supported that of Mrs. White, and coming so unex- pectedly as it aid it seemed to carry much weight. Mrs. bogast was recalled and was shown some receipts which she identified as having been written by her. The capital “C” ‘ap- pears among them, and it is claimed it bears a striking resemblance to tha® letter which forms the signature to the note inclosed in the box of candy sent to Delaware. It is supposed the defense will argue that Mrs.. Arbogast wanted Mrs. Dunning removed so that Dunning and Mrs. Botkin could wed “and then there would be no one standing between herself and Mr. Botkin. W. J. Corcoran, purser of the steamer He (old of the receptacle at the side of the steam- er for letters that were too late for the mail. He also said it was a rule that the letters so carried were to be deposited in the postoffice foot of Market street with- in one hour of the time the steamer land- ed in this city, so that merchants could have their orders filled and sent on the return trip of the steamer. GAGE'S INAUGURATION WILL BE JANUARY 4 This Date Fixed by Colonel Burns and An- nounced by the Governor-Elect in Order to Save Moses Gunst. The Man From Mexico Overrules the Constitution and Shortens Budd’s Term Five Days in Order to Secure the Reappointment of His Gambling Partner. The conference between the two gen= tlemen occupied almost an hour, after which the Governor-elect repaired fo the apartments of Governor Budd. Ar- rived there he announced to the Gover- nor that the executive committee of the State Central Committee had held a | meeting and decided that the inaugu- ral ceremonies should take place on January 4, 1899. “If that is the wish of the executive committee,” said the Governor, "and also your wish it appears to me that As a result of a conference held yes- | constitutional provision for the term of terday afternoon - between Governor- |office for the Governor of the State con- elect Gage and Dan Burns the infor- |flicts with the wishes of Colonel Burns. mation was conveyed to Governor Budd | As a result the constitutional provision The manner in which Mr. Hosmer was that the inauguration ceremonies of the | has been set aside and Colonel Burns drawing his 1nfnr‘mru|§m {mm (:w purser | Governor-elect would occur on Jenu- h decreed that Governor-elect Gage angered Mr. Knight, who said it was|gpy 4, 1899 11 be inaugurated January 4, 1899 s s that he should get certain i 7S g € 2 ated , 1899, infamous that he should get cortin %" | Governor Budd's term of office will | and that the reappointment of Police Hosmer returned his rr:-vnarks with “Well, | not expire until January 11, but the | Commissioner Gunst shall be an- you needn’t get touchy, fnauguration of Governor-elect Gage |nounced on January 5, 1899. It may be pjected to Knight's dictating | * 3ag ¥ £ 3 2 CORRC R It 1% | has been set for an earlier dats in order | stated in passing that Governor-elect that Police Commissioner Gunst of this | Gage conveyed the decision of Colonel to him the manner in_which he shou present his evidence. Knight said, “If I| ;{!s\]fi;({hl:‘\l; fik:o;;&r‘ case than that 1| jtv may be reappointed. Gunst is the | Burns to Governor Budd in order that ouldn’t tallc like that @ ving to the| gambling partner of Colonel Burns. His | there might be no mistakes as to the | the matter is settied =1 fail to see galle 2 : S e Lol tamm of office expires J-auary 5, 1899. | matter of dates. where I am to be allowed to have a emghtrveligvas ooy n't play to any-| nr b speculation has been indulged | In announcing the date of his in- ""‘:9 In the matter, even if I desired {MBhe cross-examination Mr. Knight|in regarding the exact date on which |auguration to Governor Budd Mr. Gage RONCoRS. 3 So ended the conference, and it is now brought the nautical terms he has learned neglected to give Colonel Burns credit the inaugural ceremonies will be held. his launch Athlete into play. He spoke | & . 27 ¥ St = o e Rarallon as a ten-knot boat and of | Governor Budd was inaugurated Janu- | for overruling the constitution, and (::r;;::n« ::m{(] l‘,h;t T 3 ’““‘l;m’val known to the men who 0 | ary 11, 1895, and according to the pro- | even went so far as to declare that the 1e8 A RON RN e Ol RO sea in ships and launches. | it 5 ine | Ay 4 0 vision of the constitution appears that the Governor shall hold office for four years and until his succ is duly elected and qualified. According to law this would fix the date of Gov- ernor-elect Gage’s inauguration as Jan- uary 11, 1899. In this particular the | | announcement was the will | executive committee of the Republican State Central Committee. Governor Budd accepted the statements of Gov- | ernor-elect Gage as that of a gentle- man and it was not until later in the day that it was discovered that the Governor-elect had drawn upon his vivid imagination when he referred t0lya made the mistake of believing that '2:;11:111’32:\"2; :‘}:e'";‘m:‘; 'L:i“‘_‘:le“(‘:‘""e;(‘olonel Burns is the executive commit- ol o om- | tee. It is incredible of belief that the i Governor-elect of the State would lie Some time ago Police Commissioner | ghout so small a matter as the circum- Gunst called upon Governor Budd and | stances connected with the fixing of the asked him what he (Budd) intended to | gate of his inauguration. do regarding the appointment of a| 71p order to set the matter straight Police Commissioner for San Francisco | several members of the executive com- to succeed Gunst, whose term of office | jmittee were seen last evening and expires on January 5, 1899. The Gover- | agked regarding a recent meeting at which the date of Mr. Gage's inaugura- nor replied that he had not yet given the matter serious consideration, but | tion was fixed. This is what they had to say: gave Gunst to understand that he (Gunst) would not be reappointed. The Isaac Upham—TI have no knowledge of Governor, however, added that he had | there having been a meeting of the ex- ecutive committee, nor have I received not yet made up his mind ooncerning the matter and that when he had ar- | any notification that there would be a meeting of the committee. I know rived at a definite conclusion he would notify Gunst of his intentions. nothing concerning the arrangements Saturday, when Governor-elect Gage | for the inauguration of Governor-elect Gage, nor do I know of any date hav- was asked to name the date of his in- auguration, he declared that he could | ing been selected for his inauguration. Paris Kilburn—There has been no not decide until he had had a confer- ence with Governor Budd on Tuesday. | meeting of the executive committee at vesterday he went to the Palace Hotel | which the inauguration of Governor- to meet the Governor. He entered the | elect Gage was discussed. hotel and went upstairs, but instead of E. C. Hart, secretary State Central going to Governor Budd's apartments | Committee—I have no knowledage of he entered a private apartment, where | any meeting had or to be had of the he was soon joined by Colonel Burns. | executive committee for the purpose mentioned. I know of no arrange- ments having been made yet for the inauguration. Major Frank McLaughlin, chairman Republican State Central Committee— The executive committee of the State Central Committee has not met since before the close of the campaign. There has been absolutely no meeting or any kind. W. J. Dutton—I have been out of the State ever since the election and only returned a week ago. I have heard nothing whatever of any meeting of the executive committee, nor have I re- ceived any notice of such a meetins. It is probable that had any meeting been called I would have been noti- fled. The only thing I have received is a card requesting me to serve on the reception committee of the inaugural ball, the same, I suppose, as aL the other members have received. I have not heard a word regarding the date of the inaugural and am not aware that it has been deeided uvon. It seems to me that it would be an unusual pro- ceeding to call upon the executive com- mittee to assist in ‘the arrangements for the ceremony: that work, it seems to me, would properly devolve upon the people of Sacramento. Colonel George Stone—I am not aware that any meeting of the committee has been held since the election; certainly I have not attended any nor have I been notified that such a meeting would be held. It is possible that a few mem- bers have held a conference, but that would not be formal and binding on the committee. But I have not even heard of any such conference being held, which would have been most probable had any been held. So far as making arrangements for the inaugura- tion is concerned nothing of the sort has been done by the committee or any part of it as far as I know. Horace Davis—I have heard nothing whatever of any meeting of the com-- mittee, and as I am a member, I would undoubtedly have received notice had any such meeting been called. I know nothing about the arrangements for the inauguration, nor the date when it will take place. E. F. Preston—The committee has not as yet settled upon a date for the in- auguration of Governor-elect Gage, and, in fact, there has so far been no Strange as it may appear, there has been no meeting of the executive com- mittee of the State Central Committee at which the subject of the date of Gage’s inauguration was discussed. The only possible explanation of Mr. Gage's stainment to this effect is that he was imposed upon by Colonel Burns, or that from the witn that the steam- | er left Bureka on June 16 at 2 a. m., and arrived off Melggs Whart at 4:10 a. m. of June 18. The anonymous letter bearing hat date was postmarked in this city at 1:30 p. m. of that date. ‘Abe Marks, statistician clerk at the Merchants' Exchange, verified the time of the steamer's time from the records of the Exchange. . Dr. Terrill was again recalled and was ghown his book which indicated t %' attended thy son of- Judgs I 8 & regularly at the boy's home uraxll Jaly 23 The only record aftér that date was for one visit the boy made to his office | on July 285. The doctor claimed to fix the date of his vieit to Mrs. Botkin by the fact that he made z soclal call at the Foote house after visiting Mrs. Botkin professionally. | Peter Gorninvie, a postoffice clerk, was called to testify as to the: condition in which packages are received in this city after making the trip across the conti- nent. Upon the objection lodged by Mr. Knight and sustained by the court, the witness left the stand without giving the jury the benefit of his testmony. Policeman John Rainsbury was called to tell the distance between Station D Postoffice and the office at which Mrs. Botkin testified to having checked her luggage on the afternoon the candy is ware. In cross-examining the witness Mr. | . Continued on Second Page. TRYING TO PROVE AN ALIBI FOR MRS. BOTKIN. Attorney George H. Knight, for the Accused Woman, Produced the Great Register of the Merchants’ Exchange Yesterday to Show the Movements of the Steamer Farallon. He Sought to Disprove the Contention of the Prosecution That One of the Anonymous Letters Could Have Been Mailed in Eureka and Yet Bear the Postmark of the Office in This City. : Continued on Second Page,